Umbrella Reappear and Disappear Design
Walking around town window shopping I came across this line of umbrellas and one of them had water pouring on it. Moving closer to the object it seems that it was not any ordinary umbrella. When it gets wet the design appears. Once it dries out it goes back to being without a pattern. I was thinking that we do not have that back home, but then again it does not rain enough to appreciate it. If I lived in an area that rains frequently then I would have bought it. Maybe next time when I visit Japan there will be a smaller version of it that I could bring home and leave in my car until that one rainy day.
Namba Yasaka Shrine
When traveling to another country I like to wander around and see what I’ll find. On the last day of trip to Osaka my friends and I wanted to kill time before we had to board our bus back to Tokyo. So we started to walk around and follow these well carved statues and ended up at a shrine. However, we were shrine and templed out, so there was not much excitement until we saw this huge stone carving. It was amazing because it looks so alive despite having a shrine in its mouth. There was a sign nearby that read Namba Yasaka Shrine. We took our pictures and I said what a cool dragon’s head. Then my friend said it was a lion’s head. The debate went on, until we looked it up on our phones to settle this dispute. It seems that it is a lion’s head and I was wrong. Still there is something about this carving that was mesmerizing.
Unexpected Food Places
Have you ever had a craving for one of those large pretzels, but it so happens that you are in another country at the moment? Well I had that craving while I was in Japan and accepted idea that there isn’t one nearby. Then one day at some train station I saw this Auntie Anne’s in the distance. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me and it is not what I think it is. Moving away from my set path I headed towards the building and low and behold there it was. It was an Auntie Anne’s pretzel kiosk. If I had resolved to the idea that a pretzel shop would not be in Japan then what other chains could be in the country too. Soon I found Coco’s, Krispy Creme, Costco, KFC, Subway and many others while exploring more places in Japan. It is good to know that there are these places in Japan.
Searching for Souvenirs
While in Kyoto I was looking for souvenirs for my family. I was looking for bundled items that I could give out individually. Inside this glass case were little figures ranging from traditional to animal caricatures. What I found random were the Dragon Balls they were selling for 2,100 yen each. What baffled me was the fact that I was not in or close to an anime related shop. The temptation to purchase the balls and summon Shenron was great at first, but soon faded away. What I learned from this experience is that even though you expect one thing from a shop there can be something unexpected bundled with it.
Ultraman Energy Drink
When you are low on energy, what better way to revitalize that tired body of yours than with a drink. One drink that I tried was this Ultraman Energy drink. Truthfully I only got it because it was Ultraman and I was hoping to get the red bottle design. Sadly I ended up with the blue one, but that did not stop me from drinking the contents. It seems that this bottle was a special promotion bottle. I could not find the bottle after that, then again I was more focused on getting the Dragon Ball cans than Ultraman.